Spotlight, Featured Woman

Woman in the Spotlight: Michelle Girasole

Michelle Girasole is an online marketing services expert and a co-author of The Sassy Ladies’ Toolkit for Start-up Businesses. She has helped her clients, which range from female-owned start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, market their products and services online, using tools such as permission-based e-mail, podcasting, blogging, social media and search engine sites. Michelle regularly teaches workshops and seminars to entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and business school students. She helped launch a peer-to-peer business advisory board program for the Entrepreneurship Forum of New England. She received her master’s in business administration and marketing degrees from the University of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two young children and three old cats, and the wife of one handsome husband.

TNEW: Hi Michelle, so we are going to talk about why you decided to work for yourself?

Michelle: When I was 15 years old, I saw my parents sell a business and our family’s lifestyle improved dramatically. I decided back then that I would do the same thing someday - own my own business. I went to college and grad school, worked in Corporate Marketing for 10 years and when I was pregnant with my first child, decided I would start my business and work from home. It was challenging and successful and I enjoyed the experience so much, I connected with two other women entrepreneurs, Miriam Perry and Wendy Hanson to write “The Sassy Ladies’ Toolkit for Start-Up Businesses” to encourage other women to start their own businesses! We launched that in April of 2009, and the feedback’s been great.

TNEW: Wonderful. What does being a business owner mean to you since you started?

Michelle: Owning my own business has meant that I have been able to be with my children so much more than when I worked outside the home for someone else. That freedom is incredibly important to me. Just this morning, I played hooky on myself and took the kids to the beach! I feel very grateful to be able to shift my work around my family life. My son has been in half-day preschool and kindergarten for the last three years, and my daughter, two years before that - he starts first grade this September and I am actually looking forward to having a solid five day work-week again! But I’m still home when they get off the bus. Today, women with young kids have so many options for using their professional skills to bring in income for the family, while still being available to their kids.

TNEW: Are you comfortable as an entrepreneur? Do you come up with new ideas or additions or changes to the business?

Michelle: Am I comfortable? That’s a great question! Yes, I can’t imagine doing anything but working for myself ever again, honestly. (I joke that I’m no longer employment material.) But am I comfortable? I’d say that in a way, I was far more comfortable in a salaried job than it is to own my own business. You know where your next paycheck is coming from, you know you’re putting money in a 401K every week, you have health care. That’s comfortable. That’s why it is so hard to leave the security of a J.O.B. to start your own business, and why many women do it only after a major transition - layoff, pregnancy, caring for a parent, etc. But, I take comfort in the ability to decide who I work with, when I work, where I work and the type of work I do, the creativity I am allowed in this role. That is all extremely enjoyable and it is comfortable work when you are doing what you love.

As for new ideas and changes, yes, I do embrace them, probably to a fault. When offering a product or service to a market, nothing is guaranteed. You have to take your best shot, see what works, what customers respond to, what they don’t. With the marketing company, we offered clients different services, pricing structures and added a series of DIY classes to try to appeal to various market segments. With the Sassy Ladies’, we took our knowledge, expanded on the book, and offered private and group coaching, teleseminars, and even a subscription based service. You have to test what works and be willing to experiment. Sometimes that can be very challenging, but I love testing ideas, so it has been very rewarding in that sense.

TNEW: What or who has been the greatest influence in business and why?

Michelle: Well, I get the entrepreneurial bug from my Dad, and from a very young age, I saw both my parents work very hard to make a business succeed. I hope I am setting a good example for both of my kids that I have been able to create a career that I love, so that someday they will follow their interests. Profit from their passions, as people say!

I also cannot discount the power the Internet has had on my ability to be a ‘mompreneur’. Opportunities for connecting with customers online did not exist when my parents ran their business. It’s an exciting time to be a small business owner. The Internet has leveled the playing field for small and large companies.

TNEW: What would you say to date has been your greatest professional accomplishment?

Michelle: With Precision Web Marketing, I am still amazed that our small RI company was able to land a big training project with 3M, a Fortune 500 company. I took a chance, made the pitch and it paid off. That was cool. And, I’d have to say being part of the creation of an award-winning book was very rewarding. The book won awards with Writer’s Digest and Small Business Trend’s (Top 10 Best Small Business Books) in 2009.

TNEW: What’s the best advice you received and would you lie to pass that onto our readers?

Michelle: Allow yourself to explore your dreams, think big, and believe you can do anything. If you don’t, no one will for you! We can be our own worst enemies or our own best friends.

TNEW: What are some of the most effective marketing programs you have used in business and would you be willing to share them with our readers??

Michelle: I am a big fan of Constant Contact, the email program. It is so effective to staying in touch with your market. It was the first service I offered when I started my company, and I still work with them today. They are a tremendous company - great service, great people.

TNEW: What is the one thing that you have used, as a small business owner & mother, you’ve learned that will serve you well over the years?

Michelle: One thing that applies to both motherhood and business is to be present in any moment - to your kids, to your customers - to one thing at a time. Women today wear many hats, and it is so easy to let our minds wander - thinking of work when we’re at home and home when we’re working. Early on when the business was young, I’d be trying to take a customer call or checking email while the kids were at the playground - trying to do it all - at the same time. I’ve learned to separate the two and allow myself to concentrate on one thing fully. It’s a much better way - for my sanity, and the quality of the work I do, and, of course, the kids always appreciate my full attention! So, “Be present at all times” is my advice. So simple, but it’s a learned skill!

TNEW: Are there any tools or links that you’ve used that you’d like to share with small business owners, mother’s etc… that help you manage your day to day home & working life?

Michelle: Well, I do love Facebook for connecting with family, friends, colleagues and customers. It is amazing to me how much it deepens relationships. It can be lonely sometimes, working from home. And, of course, I’d love to share www.TheSassyLadies.com for any women business owners who might be interested. I think we’ve created some great resources - podcasts, articles, links to our Sassy communities on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

TNEW: What do you do for fun and relaxation?

Michelle: I’m a big beach bum. Whether it’s paddling out on the surfboard, sitting in a chair with a good book, or playing sand volleyball - the beach is my happy place.

TNEW: What is the number one business goal and personal goal you’d like to share with our readers?

Michelle: My number one business goal is to create financial freedom for myself and my family. (Still working on that one - it’s a lofty goal!) As for a personal goal, this may sound weird, but I’m made a conscious decision to allow myself some downtime from goals. I’ve had a pretty demanding eight years - becoming a mom, raising two kids, starting two businesses, writing a book. This summer, I promised myself I wouldn’t push too hard on goals. It has been an adjustment, but I think good for the soul. When the kids go back to school in the fall, I’m sure I’ll ramp up on goals again, but for now, my goal is to take a breather! I think it’s just as important, every once in a while.